According to Venues Today, Amy Harris was taking photos at an Odd Future concert in New Orleans on Sunday when the band started saying they didn’t like photographers. Harris says Vyron “Left Brain” Turner approached her and slapped her in the head, knocking the camera out of her grip. She explains, “It literally knocked the lens out of the body of the camera. I had a mark on my face for a couple hours afterwards.” The video above appears to show Turner taking a swat at someone around the 1:20 mark, and photos Harris took moments before the alleged assault show an enraged Turner. Fellow photographer Skip Bolen said in a statement, “Turner immediately exploded into his vile hatred of photographers with a long string of obscenities, and then hit one male photographer first — breaking his Nikon 70-200mm lens and a split second later hit the female photographer Amy Harris in front of me — it was clearly assault and battery.”
In a statement, the band denied the assault and fired back at Harris:
There simply is no truth to the accusation floating around the internet. Its no secret that Odd Future has a love/hate relationship with photographers at shows simply because sometimes they are given access the group wishes their fans would have instead. After telling the photographers to clear out multiple times (as they’ve done before) Vyron (Leftbrain) took a swipe at a few cameras, NOT people. To manipulate the situation to insinuate an attack on a woman specifically is careless and manipulative.
Harris initially decided not to press charges, but now she’s considering legal action. She issued the following statement to Venues Today:
I was very disheartened to learn yesterday that Odd Future is denying that one of its members, Vyron Turner (“Left Brain”), engaged in the violent conduct that so many people witnessed and even photographed or videotaped. After he so publicly attacked me, I truly believed that an apology would be immediately forthcoming, which is why I declined to press charges at that time. The unexpected turn of events, including an attack by Odd Future on my credibility and motives for discussing the incident, have caused me to re-evaluate my initial decision. I’ve contacted an attorney –- Amy Borlund with Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles –- and am pursuing my options. At a minimum, I am seeking a public apology from Vyron Turner. Ultimately, I want a resolution in which Turner is held accountable for his actions.
Odd Future’s agent Carter Adams has taken a softer line than the band on Sunday’s events — he told Venues Today that he was “really, really sorry,” but that “unfortunately these incidents happen. They happen with everyone.” Actually, assaults aren’t supposed to “happen with everyone” — we’ve contacted the band’s publicist to see if Turner plans to issue an apology, and we await a response.
Venues Today Photographer Allegedly Attacked By Odd Future [Venues Today]
Photographer Corroborates Amy Harris’ Account Of Odd Future Attack [Venues Today]
Amy Harris Speaks: Threatens To Press Charges Against Odd Future [Venues Today]
Odd Future Member Allegedly Swipes, Hits Photographer At Voodoo [WWLTV, via Washington Post]